Summary:
House Bill 5912 would require all homeschoolers to give the local superintendent the name and age of each child being homeschooled, the name of the school district where the parent resides, and the name and address of the parent every year.

Status:
3/19/2008 (House) Introduced, referred to the Committee on Education."

I am in Ohio, and we are required to notify annually, with all the same info you listed for Michigan. We are also required to provide a brief outline of the intended curriculum and a list of textbooks to be used. At the end of the year, we have to have a Portfolio Assessment (written narrative showing satisfactory progress) or standardized testing scores.

The county I live in is very laid back about homeschooling. I'm very happy about that. It takes a lot of pressure off. I can't imagine what its like for people in areas with stricter rules and requirements.

HSLDA's opponents keep saying there's no need for its services since homeschooling is "legal" in every state. And then something like this comes along, showing once more that our hsing freedoms are never, ever secure, and that we must be continually vigilant to keep them.

I hope MI hsers on on this like flies on honey.

It may not seem like much to hsers in other states which already have lots of oversight; that may be because they don't understand that MI hsers would be losing freedom they have achieved. MI hsers right now don't have to do ANYTHING (other than have children ) For the government to take this kind of step is, frankly, horrifying to me.

Married to Mr. Ellie for over 30 years
Mother to 2 dds and 2 dsil
Grandmother to 1 sweet boy
Caretaker of 2 budgies

Thank you all for replying to my post. I'm glad to see that it is getting some notice. I realize now that I should have worded my sentence better. I made it sound as if I only wanted to hear from fellow Michiganders, which isn't the case.

Still, I am a bit disappointed that no one from Michigan has replied yet but, perhaps they're busy calling our state legislators.

My main reason for writing this post was to let others know what is going on in Michigan who hadn't already heard about it. The other reason is that I wanted to know how people felt about the Bill and if they planned to contact Brenda Clack or one of the co-sponsors of the Bill.

Michigan has been a very friendly home-school state since 1996 and I do not want to see that change. And now, it very well could.

-Erica

Last edited by riccalo on Mon Feb 02, 2009 7:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Thank you for posting this information, Riccalo. The first 45 views were mine showing it to people.

Took an issue like this one to get me registered.

I am only 4 months into homeschooling our 17 year old. The 9 year old will join us when she finishes her 4th grade public school classroom in June. We are new to this and are wondering what on earth we were thinking before now. Homeschooling has absolutely made converts of our whole family. We see the positive results every day.

I am thinking it's time to e-mail or meet with politicians. The idea of registering my children is frightening. Call me paranoid - because I am on this issue - but my gut is telling me this is all wrong. For starters, my children have had their social security numbers since birth. I notify the state and federal officials of my kids each year via my tax forms. Why else does another agency want to keep tabs on us?

Mandating registration within the school district seems like just a first step. I am concerned with what rights may be taken away and what future bills might be introduced.

Because I have had children in the same small public school district for 20 years, I CHOSE to notify building principals (by personal meetings and follow up letters) of my children leaving. By law, I didn't HAVE to do anything. I was just being courteous to old friends.

Question: Any ideas for e-mail content to my rep? I don't want to sound like a weirdo. LOL Ironically, I have an adult child lobbying at the Capitol today on another issue. Who knew I needed her to speak up on a second issue?

Teatime wrote:I am thinking it's time to e-mail or meet with politicians. The idea of registering my children is frightening. Call me paranoid - because I am on this issue - but my gut is telling me this is all wrong. For starters, my children have had their social security numbers since birth. I notify the state and federal officials of my kids each year via my tax forms. Why else does another agency want to keep tabs on us?

Mandating registration within the school district seems like just a first step. I am concerned with what rights may be taken away and what future bills might be introduced.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

As for the content of your e-mail to your representative, I think that short, sweet and to the point will do the trick. Just be sure to include the bill number in the first few sentences and use your own words as to avoid the appearance of a form letter. Give your own reasons for opposing house bill 5912. Use a personal story, if you feel comfortable enough to do so. If you donâ€™t feel comfortable enough to do that (or want to add a bit more to your e-mail) you could include an article/editorial that supports your view of the bill.

Perhaps someone from the forum could point you to good article/editorial to use as an example in your letter.

Teatime wrote:Because I have had children in the same small public school district for 20 years, I CHOSE to notify building principals (by personal meetings and follow up letters) of my children leaving. By law, I didn't HAVE to do anything. I was just being courteous to old friends.

More than being courteous, not telling the schools you were removing your children could easily have resulted in truant officers at your door.

Question: Any ideas for e-mail content to my rep? I don't want to sound like a weirdo. LOL Ironically, I have an adult child lobbying at the Capitol today on another issue. Who knew I needed her to speak up on a second issue?

Just tell them you are opposed to having a good homeschool law destroyed. There's nothing wrong with sounding a little weird, lol.

I'm not REALLY worried about the weirdo part. I have had lots of opportunities to show that side of me. When it comes to our beliefs, it's time to speak up. Speaking from the heart is always good and sometimes that is all I know to do. I admit I am naive on the history of homeschooling laws, but I am trying to brush up!

Our family is actually touring the Capitol tomorrow (for fun). I have been reading up on HB 5912 all I can. My district rep doesn't sit on the Education Committee...however, if we just happen to run into her as we are looking up her office, then we may just have to introduce ourselves! I will let you know if we actually have a conversation with anyone re HB5912. If not, I will now be ready to send out some e-mails. So thank you for the advice. I just want to be as effective as possible.